The iPhone 3G only went on sale last week, but a Brazilian group already claims to have hacked the phone, allowing owners to use the device on any network.
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DesbloqueioBr is thought to be one of the first groups to have successfully unlocked the iPhone 3G. It has …

Re: My understanding was

The point is to make the phone work in a place (Brazil) where there is no iPhone being sold yet (officially), and where the telco from the original country does not even exist. Now, in places where it is on sale, then... see Phil's answer above, I guess.

Desperation

As much as I love my iPhone I can't for the life of me understand why someone would be so sad and desperate as to go to the bother of buying one at great cost, unlocking it, thereby removing any warranty and any chance of updates working and then sign it up on a different network where you wouldn't get free data which is kind of a large part of the point of the iPhone.

I didn't understand it the first time, don't understand it now.

Paris, as shes as brainless as anyone who'd go to that bother to end up with a half working iPhone.

Not a hack

Just to point out this is not a Hack. Jailbreaking or Hacking the iPhone would allows 3rd party applications and so on to be added for free, without spending on iTunes. This is "unlocking" to any network. Personally in the UK, I don't see the point in unlocking the iPhone. Half of the attraction is being able to use unlimited data and wifi hotspots. If you stick a voda or orange or whoevers sim in, you pay through the nose for the data charges.

Anyway - still awaiting the jailbreak... not sure i'll do it though, i dont want an expensive 18 month brick.

Who wants...

...an iPhone anyway? I'm over-the-moon happy with my Nokia 1112. Plus I don't have to fear for my life when talking on it wandering around the dodgier suburbs Nottingham at night (well, not any more than I should have to).

iPhone 3G in Brazil

Here in Brazil there´s a law that all carriers have to sell unlocked phones if you don´t want to pay for a 1 or 2 years contract. You pay the price, but the phone is unlocked. About the official sales, Claro (www.claro.com.br) is announcing the iPhone 3G soon. Why do apple deny it will sell iPhone 3G in Brazil?

clarification

1. Carriers no longer share revenue with Apple. Instead they buy the iPhone from Apple at a generous price.

2. Jailbreak = hack CPU OS security so you can install applications not supplied via Apple; unlock = hack baseband processor firmware so you aren't tied to official carrier. Story is about a claimed unlock.

actually I don't believe it

I think they have just made a clever video for Youtube and are trawling for sales leads in the hope of there being an unlock. They've set the price high so they can buy unlocked iPhones if they have to. Or just run off with punters money if that works better.